Ikemen Desu Ne 2
by Buta Usagi
Summary: This story is based immediately after the last episode of the Japanese version of "You're Beautiful" aka "Ikemen Desu Ne". It focuses on the main characters and how Ren and Miko's relationship develop now that she's back from her volunteer work in Africa.
1. Miko Returns! The Love Story Continues!

AN: Hey all! Thank you for reading this. I promise I'll make this note (and future notes) quick and painless. This story takes place immediately after the last episode of the _Japanese_ version of 'You're Beautiful', 'Ikemen Desu Ne'. So, I will be referring to the characters by their Japanese names. I do re-read a lot before I post and I'm pretty sure it's 99% good grammar-wise. At the very least, my spell checker says there are no spelling mistakes. Please comment on anything and I accept all types of constructive criticism, I will be a better writer because of it. Well, that's all I have. Please enjoy!

"_Ren-san!"_

"_Welcome home."_

"_I'm back!"_

Chapter 1

Ren's smile widened when he saw the necklace around her neck. Where it always was in all the pictures she had sent him and his band mates. He took in all the differences. Her hair was obviously longer, the hairpin he bought for her holding a side of it back. She looked the same, yet different. He would not let anyone know, but he had been worried about her return. Worried she may not feel the same, even though she had never given him reason to doubt her feelings. However, he suspected Shu picked up on his thoughts. They had a slight… disagreement… before he left to pick Miko up. The last words Ren heard from Shu after having the front door slammed in his face before he left were "Go pick Miko up already so we don't have to deal with your mood swings." He grimaced.

"What's wrong, Ren-san?" Miko asked, watching his face earnestly.

"N-nothing." A slight smile showed up on his face. They had still yet to leave for his car. He wanted as much time alone with her before he had to share her attention with the others. _Especially her brother,_ Ren thought_._ He grimaced again.

"Seriously, Ren-san, that's the second time now. What happened?" She tugged on his jacket and pouted. "Are you and my brother arguing again?"

Instead of deflecting the question, he answered it. They were in love; he didn't have a reason to hide anything. "I don't want to take you back and share you right now. Let's go get some dinner?"

She grinned and hugged him. "I missed you."

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed gently. "I missed you, too. No more going out of the country without me and never for that long again."

Miko nodded and buried her head against his neck. She pulled back a bit and placed a quick kiss on his nose. Her eyes widened and a blush colored her cheeks. She didn't even think before she did that. She opened her mouth to apologize, but was cut off by Ren's lips crashing against hers. They stood there, in the midst of the crowds and strangers, until Ren backed away with a smile. "I think you missed the first time, Buta-Usagi. C'mon, let's go get some food."

Miko's cheeks felt like they were on fire, but she nodded. He grabbed her white rolling suitcase with one hand and her own hand with his other. Together they walked through the airport and to his car.

The shiny red Lexus was easy to spot. Ren opened the passenger door for her and softly closed it once she was in. He all but tossed her suitcase in the trunk, not being exceptionally careful about the paint. He didn't want to be without her for too long. "It has already been long enough," he muttered to himself.

"So, where shall we go to eat?" he asked after he got in and started to pull on his seatbelt.

"I don't know. You should chose, Ren-san." She smiled up at him.

"All right, I know just where to go."

While he drove, Miko shared stories about her time there. She was able to go in much greater detail now that she wasn't just limited by a piece of paper. She told him about the children she helped care for and teach. He felt a lump in his throat form when she mentioned how much she enjoyed being around the children.

Sometime during their conversation, her hand managed to find itself placed on his leg. His eyes darted to her form next to him for a quick second. Her head was bowed down slightly, but he could see her face was tinged with red, but she was still explaining about the new school the volunteers were able to build. Looking back out at the road, he smiled and placed his left hand on top of hers, squeezing gently before returning it to the steering wheel.

It didn't take more than an hour to escape the airport and make it to their destination. It was a small place, but obviously for the upper-class of society. Miko bit her lip anxiously. Once the car was parked, he squeezed her hand again. "Don't be so nervous. I know it's on the ritzy side, but it's a place I know I can get into right away and have a private meal with you."

She looked up at Ren and nodded. "Sorry, I'll try not to be so nervous."

She started to open the door, but he tugged on her hand that he still had captured. "Wait." He unbuckled and jumped out of the car, literally running to the other side to open the door for her.

Miko smiled and took his hand the he offered to help her out. "Thank you." Hand in hand they walked into the restaurant.

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"I swear, if that Ren doesn't have my sister here in 30 minutes, I'm going to switch his cold and hot water lines in his shower!"

Shu and Yuki laughed at Mio. "Give them some time together, Mio. Ren-san has been cranky all week, if he comes back before he's had some time with Miko, who knows how much grumpier he'll get."

"We all haven't seen her for two years, but you know how her last week with us went. Give them some time," Shu, always the voice of reason, said.

All three of them sat the breakfast bench. "What was the yelling and banging I heard down here earlier?" Yuki asked.

Shu laughed and took a sip of his tea. "He spent the entire morning trying to pick out his clothes and then started complaining that he wouldn't have enough time to do his hair."

"Just like a girl," Mio muttered. "Why couldn't he be a girl?"

"Hey! I liked Miko even when I thought she was a boy," Yuki said.

The other two laughed.

"So, I pretty much dragged him out of his room. He was yelling at me the whole time and I kicked him out with only his car keys and wallet." Shu reached into his pocket for another set of keys. Everyone noticed they were Ren's house keys by the twinkling stars hanging from the ring. "I locked him out." He slipped the keys back in his pocket.

"Brilliant, Shu-san!" Yuki congratulated.

"Whatever…" came the sullen reply from Mio.

Both Shu and Yuki looked at him. "You used to get along with Ren up until a couple months ago, what happened?" Shu asked.

Mio sighed. "I didn't realize how serious they were. Ren and Miko." He looked at the two others and was contemplating whether or not he should tell them what he found out. The two just looked at him expectantly. "At that recording a couple months ago for the new single, I asked to borrow Ren's laptop during a break. I swear, I wasn't prying or anything, but his bookmarks list was up and there were a couple links for jewelry stores. I… clicked on them. They were all for rings. There was even a page for custom design rings."

Both Shu and Yuki's mouths dropped slightly. "So, he was looking at engagement rings for Miko?" Shu asked.

"He also had some designs in his iPhoto library that I found. And yes, I started snooping once I saw the websites. There wasn't much else besides lyrics and music he was working on."

Yuki smiled. "You should be happy for your sister, Mio-_chan _. Ren is a perfectionist; she'll have the best ring ever."

"That's not the point, stupid. Sure, they've known each other for over two years, but how much time did they really spend together? I bet he doesn't even know what her favorite color is."

Shu sighed and patted a gentle hand on Mio's shoulder. "Love has no restraints on time, gender, creed, age or race. It's limitless. Miko has helped Ren become… I wouldn't say another person… but he's not as reserved with his feelings anymore. She got through all his quirks and found the real him. And I think, in some ways, he's done the same for her."

Mio nodded reluctantly. "I know… but she's still my little sister. Aren't I obligated to hate him?"

They all laughed. "Yes, but take it from people who have known him much longer. I've never seen him this happy. I've never seen him this open. If we all thought he was a musical genius before, I don't know what to call him now." Yuki nodded in agreement with Shu.

"He would do anything for her. Your sister made him a better person… made all of us better. You should be proud to have her for your sister," Yuki added on.

Mio smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm still switching his water lines."

Yuki stood up. "Want some help?" Shu just shook his head and took another sip of tea.


	2. Miko's and Ren's First Quarrel

"_And I… will never part with my important star. I'll wait for you."_

"_Okay."_

Chapter 2

"That was delicious, Ren-san," Miko stated and then wiped her mouth with the white linen napkin. It was one of those restaurants that didn't place the price on the menu, so she had opted for a regular Caesar salad. Ren had looked at her skeptically when she ordered, but didn't vocally question her choice. He, not as different as her, ordered a chicken salad wrap. He didn't want fancy food; he just wanted to be with Miko.

"How about you, Ren-san? I've done nothing about talk about myself. What have you been doing?"

"We got finished with our tour for the new album about eight months ago and we went into the studio a couple months back for our new single that's coming out next week," he rattled off.

She nodded. "Thank you for sending me the album. I loved listening to it, hearing your voice helped me a lot through the past two years." She placed a hand over his. "How is your mother doing?"

He closed his eyes. "She's coping. Learning sign language is hard for her, most the time she gives up and writes stuff down. I take her to chemotherapy... Those are the worst days."

"Do the doctors say if she'll ever talk again?"

He shook his head. "It would take a miracle they said. But... I know as long as I keep praying, it's possible." He looked up and smiled at her.

She smiled back. "What about you? You told me about ANJell. and about your mother, what have you been doing?"

"I've been keeping myself busy. The busier I was, the faster the day went by. I have enough new material to last for two more albums," Ren said with a laugh. "Which is good. That means I won't have to worry about doing any of that for a while." He cleared his throat. "Meaning I get to spend more time with you. I'll still have to do PR events and the like, but I'll be able to spend less time working and get away with it."

The waiter came by with the checkbook and dropped it on the corner of the table. Ren picked up the booklet and slipped the correct amount of cash into the flap. He laid the booklet back on the table. "I've heard that you started to let Yuki-san and Shu-san help. Even Mio-onii-san."

He nodded. "I used to be so narrow minded before, I wouldn't let anyone help. We've managed to collaborate and create some great music. There were a couple pieces on the last album Shu wrote some lyrics for. The next album will have a lot more mixture of all of us."

"That's good then. Mio-onii-san said he started working on his own solo song. He said he would let me hear it when I got back." She smiled. "But, like you said, I want to spend some more time with you," she spoke softly.

"We don't have to go until you want to, Miko. We could even stay at a hotel- Not like that!" he quickly corrected himself. "I mean... two rooms... of course..."

Miko was blushing and nodded. "I don't think we need to go that far, though. I do want to see them sometime today."

Ren stood up from his chair. "Come on, I want to show you something." He held out a hand, she took it and helped her to her feet.

She took his hand and stood up beside him. "Thank you for dinner, Ren-san."

He smiled and nodded his head. They waited outside for the valet to bring Ren his car. "About three months after you left, a project for an observatory started up. They ended up building it not far from here. It's only about a 40 minute drive."

She grinned up at him. "Actually, I knew about this."

Looking confused, he tried to figure out who knew. None of his band mates could have known, right? His anonymous contributions to different projects and groups have always gone unnoticed by them. Right? "How did you find out?"

"I guess it is okay for me to tell you since I'm no longer part of ANJell." She squeezed his hand and kept smiling. "But... President has always known of your contributions. He cares about all of you, even me. He told me in a letter about what you were doing, setting up the fund and donating much money for the effort."

He looked away, embarrassed. He preferred the anonymity of everyone not knowing. It wasn't because he thought it was shameful, he just didn't think he needed all the money he received. The house is paid for, his food and clothes. Very rarely has he bought anything for himself besides his car, so instead of wasting the money he secretly donates a portion to different groups. "Do the others know?"

She shook her head. "President only told me because he was using that information to get you to do the free concert at Aozora Kindergarten."

"That guy... Next time I see him," Ren grounded out through clenched teeth.

The valet had returned with his car and handed his keys to Ren. Miko tugged on his arm. "Don't be upset with him, Ren-san."

They both walked towards the car and Ren, like at the airport, opened the door for her. "I wanted it to be a surprise," he said softly, his face still frowning.

She squeezed his hand gently. "It still will be. I've never been to one before." She sat inside and waited for him to climb in the other side. Ren started the car and they drove away from the restaurant.

"He really does care about us, you know. I think he thinks of us as his children in some ways. He was hoping that by adding my brother to ANJell, it would bring all of you closer together. He didn't want just the band itself to succeed, but he wanted its members, too. He once told me that the four of us had created a miracle called ANJell." Her hand found its spot back on Ren's leg, not so timidly this time. He glanced down at it again and couldn't stop the small smile from forming. "He told me that the last time I took Mio-onii-chan's place. He knew it was me. He had found out about Mabuchi-san tricking him with me taking my brother's place and had reduced his wages."

Ren smirked. "I'm glad your brother broke his nose."

She batted his arm. "Ren-san!" She laughed a bit. "I guess I kind of have to agree. I have so many wonderful memories because of that. And I found my brightest star." She continued on. "Because my brother felt obligated to Mabuchi-san for saving his spot in ANJell, he had agreed to take on side jobs without President finding out to help make up for the money Mabuchi-san was losing out on."

Ren snorted a laugh. "Sounds like Mio."

Miko laughed along with him. "So, President had discovered that that day my brother was actually in Fukuoka. He knew Mabuchi-san would ask me to take my brother's place again, so President told him that he needed to talk to Mio-onii-chan. Mabuchi-san shows up at the school and begs me to help him."

"I wish… that you could have stayed with us, Miko. I wonder if we could swap you for Mio."

"Really, Ren-san, what has been going on between you two? Mio-onii-chan had never had a problem with you until recently. The past couple months' worth of letters he always mentions some wrong you've done or some fight you two have been in. I didn't think it could be because we're together, he seemed fine with it up until recently."

Ren shook his head. "I don't know. All I remember is the day we were coming back from recording our new single, he started arguing with me about everything. He even ignored me when I offered to help him with his song. Even though he had told me just that morning he wanted me to help him."

She sighed and shook her head. "You can't think of anything odd about that day? Maybe it is because we're going out. It's been over two years, but still…"

"It doesn't matter if he approves or not. Right?"

"I…" Miko paused.

Ren's eyes widened slightly at the pause she took. He didn't understand why she didn't agree right away. He didn't need anyone's permission. Between his mother who abandoned him and a father who didn't acknowledge his existence, not to mention being an only child, he learned how to cope by himself. When he saw it was safe, he quickly pulled to the side of the road. "What's with that silence? Why would it matter if he approves?"

She bowed her head slightly and moved her hand away to fold them in her lap. "I don't know if you would understand, Ren-san. Mio-onii-chan is the only person I've ever had to rely on. I would tell him everything and he would tell me everything."

"So, you're saying you would part with me if you brother doesn't approve?" Ren glared out at the road in front of him.

"I didn't—"

He interrupted her. "Good to know where I stand." With those words, Ren checked for cross traffic and made a sharp U-turn, heading back the way they came.

"We're not going?"

Ren kept staring straight ahead. "I don't really feel like seeing stars right now."


	3. Mio Realizes His Mistakes

AN: Sorry about the delay. I like to be ahead in the story in case I want to go back and change something. This chapter is pretty long, clocks in at 2100+ words. That was one of the suggestions I had from a reviewer, so thank you =) Enjoy!

"_Why don't you try praying again? For you to be able to touch that star. If you don't give up, that dream might come true, right?"_

"_But there are also dreams that can't come true."_

Chapter 3

The sun had long since set and Mio was finishing up his _surprise_ for Ren. "That'll work," he said while screwing in the last screw for the shower. He grinned at Yuki and they both left Ren's room quickly.

Shu watched the two from the couch as they came back into the room. "You know there's going to be hell to pay when he finds out. I'm not sticking my neck out for either of you two."

Yuki smiled smugly. "You're going to be in trouble, too, you know." Shu looked confused. "You didn't try to stop us."

Shu laughed. "I simply knew nothing about it. But I wonder…" He paused and looked thoughtful. "What if Miko decides to spend her time here in Ren's room? Like the gentleman Ren is, he might offer to let her use his shower first."

Mio and Yuki looked at each other horrified. Mio snapped out of it faster. "Miko will be sleeping in my room, thank you very much."

Shu shrugged and picked up a magazine from the coffee table. "She's an adult, if she really wants to, you couldn't really stop her."

Mio bit his lip, a habit that made him look way too much like his twin. Shu had a point and as much as he would be opposed to it, he knew he really had no say. Without a word, he made a beeline back to Ren's room to undo the prank he spent the last hour setting up. "Yuki! Get in here and help!"

The blonde shook his head and went back. Getting absorbed back into his magazine, Shu barely noticed the door opening, but the angry stomp of footsteps had him confused. He watched as Ren made his way to the kitchen, grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator, take a drink of it, pause, take another drink and throw the bottle back into the refrigerator. Confused by the missing person, Shu looked back towards the door to see Miko struggling with her suitcase over the small steps. He looked between the two one more time before going to help her. "Miko, here, let me help you." He pulled the large suitcase into the entryway and closed the door.

"Thank you very much, Shu-san." Her voice sounded weak and tired. He chalked it up to her long journey back to Japan. She slipped off her shoes in the entrance. "Um, I don't know where I'm staying…"

"You can stay with your beloved brother."

Both of them looked up towards the voice. It was coming from Ren, but Shu couldn't remember the last time he heard him so angry. Or so sad. "Ren…" he started.

"To Mio-onii-chan's room then," interrupted Miko. She put on a smile and started walking towards the room she had occupied briefly, pulling her suitcase with her.

Shu watched Miko's back as she walked away. He began to follow her and then changed his mind. He stalked into the kitchen instead. Ren turned around as he heard his approach. Clenching a fist and his teeth, Shu grounded out, "Not even twenty-four hours, Ren. What did you manage to do this time?"

"Me? Am I always going to be the one to blame?"

"Then explain to me what Miko did to make herself so miserable."

Ren looked away, down the hall where Miko had walked to Mio's room. "She…" he started off angry. He took a breath and started over. "If it came down to it, she would choose her brother over me."

Shu looked confused. "You mean if Mio said he didn't approve of you, she would stop seeing you? Are you sure that's what she meant? That doesn't really sound like her."

The other man nodded and Shu realized this wasn't just another issue with Ren's stubbornness. "And to make matters worse, Mio has apparently been writing to her while she was in Africa about all our disagreements."

To Shu, the picture finally clicked together. What he learned from Mio earlier, the hostility between the two and now the letters Miko received from her brother. "I think you need to talk to Mio. He found out something a couple months ago and was pretty bothered by it."

"What did he find out?" Ren looked confused. He didn't know he had any secrets or skeletons in the closet he had to be worried about.

Shu shook his head. "It's not really my place to say anything, but I think if you approach him about all the problems you two have been having, he'll let you know." Ren frowned and retrieved his water from the fridge again. "I think the first thing you should do, though, is talk to Miko. Whatever is going on between you and Mio didn't happen because of anything Miko did. She doesn't deserve any of your anger or frustration."

Ren nodded, drinking the last bit of water. Shu was right, as he normally was about these types of things. He just wished he knew him better when they first met Miko as Mio. He could have had someone to mediate some of the problems in his life back then. "Thanks, Shu. I'm going to take a shower first." Shu just smiled and went back to the couch and leaned back to enjoy the show that was about to begin. He heard Ren open his door. It wasn't even a minute later when he heard what he was waiting for. "What the hell are you doing to my shower?"

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After kicking out the two miscreants, Ren put the shower handle back together and took his shower. He didn't even want to know what they were doing. He gave Mio an extra-long glare before they left. The other boy had met his glare with a bit of worry in his face. _Good, he better be worried,_ Ren thought as he continued to dry his hair. He pulled his forelocks back into a small ponytail and took one last look in the mirror to make sure he didn't look too angry. He didn't want to upset Miko anymore.

He found the rest of the house members sitting in the living room while Miko was talking to them about the things she did in Africa. He had heard most of it already during the car ride, but he sat down anyway at the breakfast bar and listened. He realized Miko didn't even look towards him when he entered the area and he felt kind of hurt by it. "What did I think was going to happen? I wasn't exactly very friendly to her earlier," he mumbled. Only Shu seemed to notice he was there and looked up towards him when he spoke aloud albeit quietly.

"And I brought souvenirs for everyone!" Miko jumped up and started sorting through a large bag that was next to her. "For Shu-san!" She held out a small red gift bag and Shu gently took it from her.

"Thank you, Miko." He opened the bag and pulled out a half a dozen or so small pouches. "Herbal teas."

"From plants and flowers only found in Africa. A young girl's mother used to grow all sorts of flowers, but after she passed away, she took care of the plants. I bought some of her favorite teas for you." She turned to Yuki and held out a thin long box. "For Yuki-san."

Yuki took the box from her and opened it up. Inside were two dark tan drumsticks with a very tribal design in black. "Wow! These are so cool, Miko!"

Miko smiled. "We had a young boy who loved to carve things and was very artistic. I thought it would be a great gift even if you don't use them, they're very pretty."

Yuki nodded and twirled the sticks around expertly between his fingers. "I don't think I want to use them, the paint might wear off. I'll have to find a nice case for them."

She turned to her brother and held out a small square box, looking surprisingly like a ring box. "Onii-chan, this one is for you."

Mio took the box, looking at it curiously and opened it. He pulled out a long silver chain and hanging from it was the ring that Miko always wore. Ren frowned slightly, confused about the meaning. "It's… mother's ring."

"Mm-hm. I bought the chain so you'd be able to wear it around your neck. I've taken care of it up until now like you've said, so it's your turn. I would wish you would one day give it to the girl you would marry." Her cheeks turned pink, but she was smiling.

"Miko…" Mio kept staring at the ring. "Thank you, little sister." He put it around his neck and made sure the clasp stayed in the back.

She held one more box in her hand. Ren could see she was biting her lip nervously. He waited for her to say something, but as time ticked by, he decided to start the conversation. "Is that one for me, Buta-Usagi?"

Miko looked up, surprised shown on her face. "Ren-san…"

He got off the stool and walked towards the back door; he turned and looked back at her, expecting her to follow so they could talk outside. But instead of following after him, she turned and ran to her brother's room. Ren stood there in silence and the others remained quiet, too. Feeling his cheek twitch, he stalked to his own room and slammed the door.

Shu sighed and Yuki and Mio looked at each other confused.

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Miko sat down on the floor against the bed clutching the box to her chest. She flinched when she heard the door across from the room slam. She wanted to give Ren's gift to him alone, but at the same time was too upset to want to be alone with him. Hence her fleeing to her brother's room. A soft knock sounded on the door. She looked up and called out, "Y-yes?" The door opened revealing a very worried Mio. "Onii-chan, why did you knock? This is your own room."

He shrugged and sat down on the bed next to her. His hand went up to the ring, feeling the design beneath his fingertips. "You seemed upset, so I didn't want to bother you if you wanted to be left alone." He paused and looked down at her. "What happened between you and Ren?"

"It is just a big misunderstanding. I said something that made him sad… but I didn't mean it the way he took it. For Ren-san, whenever he is sad, he gets angry. I know this… but it still hurt." She bit her lip, rubbing the spot where their mother's ring used to be.

"Miko… what did Ren say? Or what does he believe that is not true?"

"In your letters to me, it always seemed like you two were fighting. I thought maybe it was because you didn't approve of us being together." She looked up towards her brother. "That's not the case is it? He was upset because I had a hard time answering him when he asked me if it mattered if you approved." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "If you don't approve of us, I don't know how I will live without hurting one of you or hurting myself. I want both of you in my life, but if… if you don't approve of him, what am I supposed to do?"

Mio slid to the ground and wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders. "I'm sorry, little sister. I… am just a big idiot." He laughed a bit. "It's not that I don't approve of him. I just… I guess I don't think there's anyone out there who deserves you. We've always looked after each other. We were all we had."

She shook her head. "So… you don't mind that I'm with Ren-san?" she asked as she looked at her twin.

"Not really I guess. I would like to talk to him about something though. He… is hiding something that I found out about, but I was too shocked to actually try to talk to him. And I just used every opportunity I could to pick a fight with him."

"Ren-san is hiding something?"

"A _big_ something. It's nothing bad… just… surprising."

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "I trust Ren-san and I trust you. Please try to get along like you two used to."

Mio nodded. "I will. I'm sorry. I'll apologize to him, too."

"I want… to go give Ren-san his gift now," she said as she stood up. "I won't be long."

Mio made a shooing motion with his hand. "Take all the time you need."


	4. Miko and Ren Make Up! True Love Afterall

"_When I can't see anything, I get irritated. So, always stay where I can see you."_

_ "But… even if I'm this close, you still can't see me, right?"_

"_However bad my sight is, I can tell that you're there. So always stay by my side."_

Chapter 4

Ren was tapping a pencil against his desk. Was she really that upset? He had wanted to talk to her, apologize. But she turned around and ran away from him. His room was dark, the only light coming from his iMac's screen and the moon and stars. Frustrated that he didn't know what to do, he tossed the pencil to the side and made his way to the window. He looked up to the stars that he knew he would never see with his own eyes.

He moved the telescope closer to the window to look at the sky like he used to when Miko was away. He could see the stars now. But he was still unable to see his most important star. His star, that was shining so brightly just an hour ago, was now hiding from him. "I'm no good at this after all." He backed away from the telescope and looked back up at the sky. A soft knock snapped him out of his musings, he looked towards the door.

"Ren-san?"

"Miko…" he whispered in a voice he knew wouldn't reach beyond his door.

"Are you still awake?"

He turned back to the stars. "Yes," he called out so she would hear.

There was a pause. "Could… could I talk to you?"

Ren took in a deep breath. He didn't want her to see him upset, afraid it might upset her more. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling out the rubber band holding his hair back. When he thought he was composed enough, he called back, "The door's open." He heard the door open and close, but didn't turn around. He listened as her footsteps got closer to him.

"I wanted to give you this. I'm sorry I ran off earlier. And… I'm sorry I made you doubt my feelings for you. I just didn't know how to explain it all to you."

"It's not your fault," Ren said quietly. "I realized too late how hard it would be for you if Mio had something against me. I just never was in that type of situation. I never had to really worry about what other people thought." He turned to her. "Do you forgive me for being so quick to judge?"

Miko smiled, her eyes glistening. "Of course!" She held out the box. It was a simple white box. "I hope you'll like it."

He took the box and opened the lid. He pulled out the soft cotton sheet and stared at what was underneath. He wasn't able to stop the small smile from forming on his lips. He carefully picked up the multicolored glass. The glass was shaped as a star with over a dozen points different lengths. Even in this dim light, it seemed to radiate color and brightness.

"Do you like it?"

Ren nodded his head and hung the silver loop around his two fingers, letting the star ornament spin around gently and cast it colors everywhere. "It's perfect. Thank you."

"There's a letter in there, too. The children wanted me to deliver it to you. I told them I would if they practiced writing very hard and wrote it themselves."

He looked down at the box and sure enough there was a piece of letter paper folded up to fit inside the box. He unraveled it and started reading.

"'Dear Mr. Katsurugi, We hope you will continue to shine for our teacher. We will miss her when she leaves, but we know she wants to be with you. We all really liked your songs. Do you think you could visit us one day and sing for us? Please bring Miss Sakuraba if you do. From..." Below the parting line were over a dozen of signatures. Ren cleared his throat. "You taught them how to write very well. Now, if only your Japanese writing was as good as your English..."

Miko pouted. "I don't write horribly, Ren-"

Ren cut her off with a kiss and pulled her into his arms. She felt her eyes slide shut as the seconds passed by. He slowly pulled away, but kept holding onto her. "I love you, Miko."

She grinned and laid her head on his chest. "I love you, too, Ren-san."

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Shu and Yuki watched Mio as he returned to the living room. "Is everything all right with them?" Shu asked. They had both seen Miko go to Ren's room and since there was no yelling, they hoped everything would be fine.

Mio nodded. "It was mostly my fault. I should've just talked to Ren instead of picking fights with him." Mio flopped down on the couch and sighed. "I still need to talk to him."

"Wait until tomorrow. I'm sure Ren and Miko could use some more time together," Yuki said. "So, the party is tomorrow?"

Mio nodded. "Everyone will be showing up around five thirty. I'll get Ren and Miko to leave around three. I'm leaving you both in charge of decorations. Be ready by six tomorrow, I don't think I'll be able to keep them away longer than three hours."

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"What are you humming, Ren-san?"

He hadn't even realized he was. It was the same melody he had been working on for a month now. "It's a new song I've been working on."

Miko looked excited. "Can I hear it?"

Ren mocked rolled his eyes and moved to his desk to turn his computer on. He opened the folder and clicked on the file. It wasn't complete, but it was a good start. The music filled the room. It was melancholic and so full of love. She sighed and started swaying to the song next to Ren. He stood up and took her in his arms and started to dance with her. At first she stood still. "Relax, Miko. It's just a dance."

She finally did start to relax and rested her head on his chest. "It sounds so sad. Are there any lyrics yet?"

He shook his head. He didn't mention all the drafts he had stored in his locked desk drawer. When he was writing out lyrics for the song, he kept thinking of the time he almost lost her. Most of the drafts revolved around those feelings. He wondered if this melody would join the others that were hidden in that drawer.

"Is it going to be your solo song?"

"Maybe. Since we've been working so closely on the songs we sing as a group, the others don't really know about this one. In fact, I don't even know what Shu's sounds like yet. Or Yuki's. I've only heard some of Mio's." The song on his computer came to an end, but they still slowly swayed together. "So where do we go from here?" he asked softly.

"I want to stay here. And be near you as much as possible. I would sleep on the floor again if it meant I could stay here with you."

He gulped. "You want to stay in the same room as me?"

She nodded against his chest.

Ren's face flushed. "Fine. But you won't be sleeping on the floor."

She looked up at him. "But where will you sleep, Ren-san?" He gave her an impatient look and her mouth dropped open. "But that's not proper. Even I know that. And even though Mio-onii-chan has said he wants to set things right with you, he would not sit still for this."

"It's not like anything... is going to happen, Miko. He needs to get used to the idea we're together and we can make our own decisions."

Miko nodded. "Okay." She smiled up at him.

Ren couldn't stop the smile from forming. He would finally be able to be with his star. No more obstacles, no more over protective brothers. Just him and Miko.

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Miko woke up to a knock on the door. She was slightly disoriented. After rubbing her eyes she opened them to see Ren's sleeping face mere inches from her own. She tried to back away a bit, but Ren's arm was draped around her waist and holding her in place.

"Ren-san," she whispered, "someone is knocking on your door."

He pulled her closer. "Let them keep knocking," he mumbled.

"I can hear you, you know. Both of you."

Miko gasped. "Ren-san!" He lifted up his head and groaned. He rolled over, freeing Miko. She jumped out of bed, smoothing out her wrinkled clothes. She opened the door. "Good morning, onii-chan," she stumbled slightly over the words.

He looked at her up and down. "Well, at least I know nothing happened last night."

She blushed and looked away. "Don't be mean." When she looked back up, she was surprised to see a smile on his face.

"I'm not upset. You're an adult and your own person. I need to start respecting that."

Ren watched the short conversation with half-opened eyes and smiled. Apparently, whatever had been bothering Mio, worked itself out. "What did you need from me, Mio?"

"I just wanted to see if you had a moment to talk." Mio looked a little apprehensive. He didn't quite know how to bring up the subject, but he knew he had to at least talk to Ren.

"Sure, give me five minutes."

Mio nodded and closed the door. Miko looked back at Ren and smiled. "He told me it's not that he doesn't approve of you. He told me he found out something you were hiding."

Ren collapsed back down on the bed. "You're the second person to tell me this. I don't know of anything I'm hiding though." He shook his head. "Whatever. I'll find out soon enough." He got out of bed and pulled on a white hoodie from the closet. Surely he didn't actually need to be fully dressed, a hoodie and PJ pants would suffice. He was tired and going through his morning ritual didn't seem worth the effort at the moment. He walked towards the door, stopping in front of Miko. "I forgot to tell you good morning."

Miko laughed a bit. "It's okay. We have many more mornings together."

He smiled and nodded. He gave her a quick kiss on her lips and left the room to meet up with Mio. Miko couldn't stop the blush, or the huge smile, from forming on her face.


	5. To Conversations and Parties

_ "You're Mio?"_

Chapter 5

Mio waited outside at the picnic table for Ren. So what if he was nervous? This is unknown territory for him. How do you ask someone what their intentions are for your younger sister? He heard footsteps in the grass behind him and he looked back. Ren was approaching and he still had no idea how to bring the subject up. Ren sat down across from him and looked at him, waiting for him to speak first. "So, um…" _'Brilliant, Mio. Just spit it out!'_ he told himself. "I saw that you were looking at rings."

Ren blinked. "Rings?"

"Yeah, like 'until death do us part' rings."

Ren's eyebrows furrowed. "And how exactly did you come to this information?"

"It was when I borrowed your laptop at the recording studio. You left your bookmarks menu open and I saw the links for jeweler's websites. I was upset that you didn't say anything… about your intentions with my sister to me."

Ren leaned back a bit. He had vaguely remembered one night a couple months ago. He allowed himself to consume a little too much alcohol, no thanks to Mio or Yuki, and, well, alcohol _is_ a depressant. The emptiness of Miko being gone was really profound that night. Normally he could hold his alcohol, but knowing those two, they probably snuck the bartender extra money to make his drinks extra strong.

When they returned to the house after tagging along with Yuki and Mio, he remembered turning on his laptop. Then he remembered waking up and being on the Tiffany's website. He also had a lovely imprint of his keyboard on the right side of his face. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you I honestly don't remember doing that?"

Mio looked confused. "How could you not remember? I know you don't sleep walk."

Ren laughed. "But you know that a couple months back you guys dragged me to a club, determined to get me tipsy. I was depressed and don't remember much besides waking up and being on a Tiffany's website."

He was baffled. He remembered that night and remembered that a drunken Ren is a very sorry sight. But could this just be a huge misunderstanding? "But you had bookmarks, wouldn't you had noticed later?"

Ren nodded. "I did. I looked at a couple and decided to keep them. Apparently I have good taste even when drunk. I didn't see what harm there would be in keeping them."

"So… one day, you would like to marry Miko?" Mio saw Ren's cheeks darken a bit and finally his head nodded. "Ah. Okay."

"'Okay'?"

"That's all I wanted to know. I would like a little notice on whenever you do decide to ask her."

"So, this was the cause of the months of arguments and fighting? Just tell me these things. You know how hard it was to not tell Miko to tell you to back off? I definitely would've if I'd known what you were telling her in your letters."

"I'm sorry. But she's really my only family besides our aunt. I know you care for her a lot—"

"I love her," Ren corrected.

"Yeah, yeah… I know you _love_ her, but I'm still her brother and I want to watch out for her."

Ren nodded. "I understand, I look out for her, too. I'll let you know. I'll even show you the ring first."

Mio grinned. A huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "I am sorry. I won't do something like this again." He leaned forward and patted a hand on Ren's shoulder. "If we're going to be brothers one day, it's normal that we fight a bit, right?" Ren grinned and nodded. "By the way, do you know what Miko's favorite color is?"

"White."

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"Where are we going, onii-chan?" Miko asked.

"President said he wanted to see you when you got back."

"But then why am I coming?" Ren asked from the back seat.

"Two reasons: The first is you're going to help me with my song."

"And the second?" Ren questioned.

"Because I know you want to go wherever my sister goes."

Ren leaned back in his seat and a smile came across his face. "Sounds acceptable," he said. Mio glanced to the side and saw Miko smile, too.

Upon entering the office, they were greeted by President Andou and Sawagi. "Miko!" President exclaimed. "How was Africa?" he asked in accented English.

"It was wonderful, President. Too long to be away from home though." She looked at Ren and blushed slightly. The look wasnt lost on Andou. "I would like to still travel, but not for that long again."

Andou nodded. "Well, we'll see what we can do about that."

"What do you mean?" Ren spoke up.

"It's a surprise," he said once again in English. "I'll tell you all when you're together."

Ren looked at him suspiciously, but let it go. "Whatever. Come on, let's go work on that song of yours." He turned toward the studios and Mio followed behind. Miko gave a bow in parting to Andou and Sawagi before following after the two.

"Are you planning on telling them tonight?" Sawagi asked.

Andou nodded. "I think it's time they got out into the world."

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"You shouldn't make it so high of a pitch," Ren critiqued. "I know you have a higher range than the rest of us, but it isn't necessary and makes you sound, well, like a girl."

Mio grimaced. "But i can't figure out another way to sing this line that sounds good."

"That's why I'm here, remember?" Ren scribbled a couple things on the sheet music and handed it back to Mio. "Try this."

Mio quietly sung it under his breath. He paused and then sung it aloud so both Ren and Miko could hear it properly. "Wow. You are a genius, Ren-senpai!" Mio said with a grin.

The sarcasm wasn't lost on Ren and he just rolled his eyes. "Once we actually start recording, we should try to harmonize your voice on the last lines before each chorus. The chorus is very powerful and I think a cresendo up to it would build it up more."

Mio nodded writting down notes on different pieces of paper. He looked up at his sister. "What do you think of my song? Well, mostly my song."

Miko nodded. "It's lovely, onii-chan. Did you write it all yourself?"

Mio nodded. "I did everything myself but tuning the vocals. Ren helped me a lot with that."

"You two are very much alike in your singing. It's hard to tell you apart sometimes. It's a very natural voice you two have."

Miko blushed.

"Such high praise from Ren-sama? What did I do to earn such a great reward?"

"Shut up," Ren snapped, a little embarrassed as well. He looked at the clock. "We've been here long enough, it's almost six. Ready to go?"

Miko was surprised by how fast time had gone by and nodded.

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Mio pulled up to their house which, per instructions, was completely dark. "I wonder if maybe they went to have dinner on their own," Miko mused.

"Probably," Mio agreed, hoping everything was perfect inside.

They all whispered their "I'm backs" and took their shoes off in the entryway, slipping on their house slippers. All the lights came on and a loud "Welcome back!" resounded against all the walls. A large "Welcome Home Miko" banner was strung across the archway that leads to the kitchen and balloons and streamers were strung everywhere. Mio shook his head _'They overdid it a bit.'_

Miko's face lit up as she looked around. Everyone was there; even Nana apparently was given an invitation. She grinned and bowed to everyone, "Thank you very much!"

Yuki and Shu walked up to them. "Time to party!" Yuki said enthusiastically.

Shu just smiled and said, "We made all sorts of Italian food. It's still your favorite, right?"

Miko nodded happily and went off to go look at everything that was set out. "When did you guys manage to plan this?" Ren asked.

Mio laughed. "You were too busy counting the days until Miko came back that it didn't take much effort to hide it."

"I was not—" he cut himself off because, well, yes he was. Looking back, he realized how distracted he was starting the week before Miko arrived back in Japan.

"Aw, don't pout, Ren. Go join Miko and have some fun!" Yuki made shooing gestures.

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Later that night, Andou started tapping a spoon on the champagne glass. "Attention, ladies and gentlemen." Again he spoke in English. "I would like to make an announcement and everyone here is the first to find out." The party quieted down, but since there weren't even a dozen people present, it didn't take very long. "ANJell will be making their first world tour with the release of their next album!"

The four band members looked at each other, surprise clearly written on their face. "For real?" Yuki asked.

President nodded and Yuki and Mio let out a huge "woo-hoo!" and high fived each other causing everyone to laugh.

"And, I would like to extend an invitation to Miko to join them as well."

Miko looked shocked and looked at Ren. He nodded at her. "I would love to, President! Thank you very much!" she replied with another bow.

He smiled. "One more thing. If you ever want to try out stardom on your own, come to me first. I already know you have what it takes to do it."

She wasn't expecting that, too. Everyone in the room looked towards her. "I…"

He held up a hand. "You don't have to say yes or no right now. Just know that my door is always open."

She nodded and bowed again with another "thank you."

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"So?"

Miko looked confused at Ren's question. They were both stretched out on the bed. The party had died down an hour or so ago. Shu, Yuki and Mio told them not to worry about cleaning up and to go to bed instead. "So, what?" she asked.

"What do you think of President's offer?" he asked.

She had been thinking about it a lot. But, she wasn't tempted. "If I took his offer, I wouldn't be able to see you as much. We would have different activities to do throughout the year. I'd rather just watch you. It was always Mio-onii-chan's dream to become a singer, not mine. I always wanted…" she trailed off. They never had this conversation before. He never knew where she had come from before pretending to be her brother.

Ren looked towards her. "What was your dream?"

"Before I took Mio-onii-chan's place, I was training to be a nun."

Ren blinked his eyes. "Wait… a nun?"

She nodded. "I stayed at the convenient me and my brother were left at and decided to become a nun. Mother Superior was like a real mother for me, always guiding me. She wanted me to go out into the world and thought by helping Mabuchi-san, I would be able to see the world and then decide if becoming a nun was right for me."

Ren's eyebrows furrowed together. "So… you were that girl we saw? The day you signed the contract?"

Miko blushed and nodded. "When I saw the three of you, I thought I was seeing angels for the first time."

He laughed a little. "Shu thought you were a fan cosplaying." He shook his head. "I can't believe that was you."

Miko's face deepened in color. "Ren-san…"

"So, what's your dream now?"

She smiled and threw in arm around Ren burying her face in his arm. "I just want to be with you as much as possible."

Ren grinned and moved so he could wrap one arm around her. "Well, that won't be too hard to accomplish. But besides that…?"

"I wouldn't mind going to school to be a teacher. I loved spending time with the children in Africa."

Ren smiled and nodded. "That sounds like something you'd be good at."

She nodded. "I'm tired…"

"Go to sleep then."

She snuggled into his side and sighed, relaxing. "Good-night, Ren-san."

"'Night, Miko."


End file.
